MOBILE, Ala. -- A Home Depot employee is accused of stealing more than $40,000 worth of merchandise from the store over the last year, Mobile police said.

Police arrested 51-year-old Paul Gwin of Semmes on Tuesday, after Home Depot loss prevention agents detained him and claimed he had been stealing from the store for about a year, police spokesman Cpl. Charles Bagsby said.

Paul Gwin, 51

Police investigators went to Gwin's home, in the 10300 block of Coleman Dairy Road, and recovered building supplies, lawn mowers, insulation, tiles, drills, an air conditioner and more, Bagsby said.

Gwin worked at the Schillinger Road store as a delivery driver, Bagsby said, and investigators believe he loaded extra merchandise onto his trucks and brought those things to his house.

Bagsby said that Gwin did not appear to be selling the materials, but using them for his home.

Gwin has been charged with first-degree theft of property and was booked into the Mobile County Metro Jail. Records show that he was released from jail after making $7,500 bail.

The merchandise recovered at Gwin's home has been returned to Home Depot, Bagsby said.